Les Stroud's Wild Harvest

While hiking in a local forest, Les discovers a huge specimen of a well-known fungus. He brings it to Paul for some playful experimentation with this new type of chicken.

Using the Cunard Queen Elizabeth as home base, the tandem disembark in Sitka Alaska to meet local forger Mary Goddard to harvest sour dock and beach parsley. Later when back on the ship, Paul cooks with Executive Chef Roland while checking out the Hubbard glacier.

While hiking in the local forest, Les stumbled upon remnants of an old homestead, including some ancient crabapple trees. After trying the crabapples himself, Les decided to bring his friend Paul to the trees to harvest some for his own experimentation. With some old culinary concepts, Paul created new flavours.

Les and Paul disembark from the Queen Elizabeth to meet Mario Benassi, an expert forager. They remain vigilant for bears while gathering chocolate lily bulbs. After a brief lunch on the shore, they return to the ship to rendezvous with Marius Cochintu, the sous chef. Together, they experiment with the novel ingredient to create unique culinary dishes.

Behind an urban mall, Les discovers an abundance of delicious roots and flowers, which he shares with Paul. Using his restaurant’s kitchen, Paul gets to work crafting a meal with the newly discovered local flavours.

Les and Paul leave the Queen Elizabeth to connect with kelp forager Lia Heifetz. After harvesting some kelp, and an eventful and educational lunch, the tandem return to the ship to meet Sous Chef Karin for another special collaborative meal.

At Les’s cottage in Ontario, the delicious and dark blackberries are the main focus of the story. Paul finds savoury ways to use the flavourful fruit while Les heats up his forno the old-fashioned way… with fire.

During their stay in Sitka, Alaska, Les and Paul learned about different types of local flora. Les was introduced to the false lily of the valley by a young local named Ryker Goddard, while Paul learned about wild snapdragons. Upon returning to their ship, the Queen Elizabeth, Paul and Les collaborated with Chef Khem Singh, to create a special VIP dinner.

While in Oregon, Les and Paul connect with forager Adam Larue to harvest an unlikely bleeding mushroom with an off-putting name. Later this ingredient becomes the centre of some flavour experimentation where everything is not what it seems.

While Les and Paul are visiting Sri Lanka, Les discovers an interesting hard-shelled fruit both on the tree and on the forest floor. Paul cooks something black, and a European classic, Sri Lankan style.

While staying at Aggressor Safari Lodge in Sri Lanka, Les discovers a versatile blossom that is colourful and bountiful, but not as sweet as Paul would think. Embracing this culinary challenge, Paul creates three dishes using local culinary influences and flavours.